Hang Loose

Last week I finally picked up this mess of string that had gotten extremely tangled. I thought I would begin rolling it onto a stick so I could use it in the future. I found the end and began to roll, but the harder I pulled the more knotted up it became. I tried weaving the stick through the loops, but it soon was tight again. Finally I picked up the loose ends and began to shake them in my hand. As I did, the end loosened up and I kept winding. It took awhile, but in the end I was able to shake this knotted mess loose and get it totally rewound onto the stick.

There are a number of analogies one could take from this, but I thought how much this is like our relationships. The harder we pull against each other the tighter the situation becomes. If we could just hang loose and let things shake themselves out, life would be a lot better for everyone. In a marriage there will always be knots somewhere down the line. If we could just hang loose and not take things so personally, perhaps we could find a way to untangle those knots. I realize some situations may require cutting the cord, but for most there is hope if both are willing to work at it.

Life’s knots and tangles

Need shakeups to work them out

Hang on… don’t jump ship

Ride out September’s gales

November brings Thanksgiving

Winter is coming

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Putting on a Hug

Our disposable society has a lot of downside and excess baggage that comes with it. I believe we lose so much these days because we are too quick to discard what we once held dear. Whether it be friends or family or spouse, everything these days is dispensable. Commitment and vows seem to be archaic confinements in this generation. We seem to forget that in relationships we will have differences; things that may hurt deeply, but forgiveness is always a part of life. Without forgiveness, we will go on repeating our same mistakes and adding more and more baggage to our life’s load.

She tells me it’s time to throw it out

Faded and worn // button missing

But to me it is something special

A security blanket of sorts

Putting on this old shirt is like

putting on a hug

*

Just like a long-time friend

with all our quirks and flaws

We are something special

A security blanket of sorts

Having you as a friend is like

putting on a hug

*

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Sharing this one on open link night at d’Verse.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com Then click on the Mr. Linkey box to read from the different poets.

He’s Gone!

Inhaling smoke from your flame

Burning in the heat of the moment

You were warned, you were told

Did you listen? No!

Now you will burn

Like flash paper in a magician’s hand

Combustible feelings up in smoke

That mind-blowing moment gone

Your all-consuming desire

Not quite what you expected

Leaving ashes for memories

Dust in the wind

He’s gone!

Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Our 50th

Yesterday was our fiftieth wedding anniversary. Our whole family came home to celebrate with us. It was a wonderful day together. I received this tile from my wife for our twenty-fifth anniversary. This year I wrapped it up and gave it back to her. A reminder of the fifty years we have spent together.  Like our relationship, it has been cracked, but not broken. Now it is cemented together and stronger than ever

Happy Anniversary, my love…
Fifty years have flown by;
Through the years one thing remains; our vow of commitment to stay together for better and for worse.
We enjoyed many great years together with our family and our church. Our faith brought us through the Valley of the Shadow of death and out the other side.
We love our wonderful children and grandchildren. We pray that each one will use the values and principals we have taught them to find their own way.
I love you as much today as I did when we said our vows fifty years ago. Our love has grown and changed over the years, but I believe the love that brought us together was God ordained and he has seen us through.
Happy Anniversary my dear…
I love you with all my heart. I look forward to our next 50 years together.
December 27, 1969 – 2019

Photo: Dwight Roth

 

Finding Meaning in Life

The meaning of life lies not in the things we have
Nor what we may have accomplished;
But rather, in the life we are living each day.
Friends who care and share themselves with us
Make life a joy knowing they are there.
When we see the laughter in our children’s eyes
Feeling their love and enjoying their hugs.
The joy of sun on our face, the wind in our hair;
Mud squishing between our toes;
Listening to the birds singing their songs;
The chirp of the wren, the cooing of the doves,
Lovingly protecting one another…
Reminding us the touch of a hand and a loving voice
Bring meaning each day to our fast paced life.
Finding meaning in life lies not in the things we have;
But in those we love and those we serve.
The rest is just icing on the cake.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Two Falling Stars

Two falling stars in a universe of billions
Sometimes clashing like two knives cutting
Bleeding rightness // then finding we are wrong
Seeking forgiveness //pledging to get along
Entangled in the night like the roots of a tree
Holding on to the foundation that keeps us free
We are two bodies // waves of ebb and flow
In an ocean of night, as days come and go
Age brings with it // fossils // embedded in stone
Looking back with nostalgia as the sun sets all alone
We are pieces of the universe on collision course
When two falling stars embedded with great force
Forever lie together in the dust of the earth

Today at d’Verse we are looking at international poetry. It is easy for poetry intent to get lost in translation.  Lara gave us poems from three different international poets and asked us to pick one that inspired us and write it in our own perspective. I chose, Two Bodies, by the Mexican poet Octavio Paz.  You can read the original version below:

Octavio Paz (1914-1998) – Another Spanish speaker and more recent Nobel prize winner. Born in Mexico, he was a political activist, ambassador and essayist so that much of his poetry reads like prose poems, “written within the perpetual motion and transparencies of the eternal present tense.” 
Two Bodies
Two bodies face to face
are at times two waves
and night is an ocean.

Two bodies face to face
are at times two stones
and night a desert.
Two bodies face to face
are at times two roots
laced into night.
Two bodies face to face
are at times two knives
and night strikes sparks.
Two bodies face to face
are two stars falling
in an empty sky.

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Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Sweet Friendship

Remember the days when just being close to a girl/guy

Made the day a little brighter and smiles a little bigger?

Fun days when carefree spirits shared the swing

Then took off to look for another adventure in the woods.

Oh for the days of youth // when life was a lightness of being;

Formative times of learning about life and love and relationships

Laying the foundation for future responsibilities

and more permanent bonds of commitment.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Faith

Faith

My faith in God is not something to be proved. Rather it is something to be believed and lived. Faith is a belief about truth, with a little experience that helps reinforce it. I have found faith to be rather elusive at times in my life.

When all is well faith comes easy, but when “life happened”, as it does to all of us, it threw me for a loop! I was spiraling downward fast with no answers in sight.  My prayers went unanswered. Things seemed out of control. There was no way I could fix things. The only thing I had left was faith that God was in control, and things would work out for my good. Even then I had my doubts. I was frustrated and angry.

Through it all, I found prayer was what I needed to change me, not others. In time, and with help from some good counselors, life finally got back on track. I learned a lot about myself and about God. It definitely changed my understanding of faith. A lot of what I thought was faith was mostly culture and religion, but my belief in God and his eternal providence and grace is still strong.

Burning through blackness

Spring sun rises // Dark is light

Grace for the graceless

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Mish asked us to write a Haibun about some aspect of faith. It has to be written from our experience.  A Haibun has a concise prose segment followed by a  seasonal haiku. Come join us at d’verse.

https://dversepoets.com/

 

Shadow of Death

Shadow of Death
I will climb mountains with you
Celebrate birthdays and anniversaries too
Cry over the birth of our children…
And morn over the loss of our parents
But // am I willing to walk with you…
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”
*
I will struggle to make ends meet
Sacrifice myself so you can get ahead
Take the kids to ball games // cheer them on
And, kiss boo boos when knees are skinned
But // am I willing to walk with you…
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”
*
Can we survive the death of a child
When cancer takes its toll
Survive the blinding demons of depression
When you no longer want to live at all
Will I be willing to walk with you…*
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”

When we have faced financial loss
And all we worked for goes down the drain
When infidelity and insecurity plague our life
And forgiveness seems the last thing on the brain
Will you walk with me…
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”
*
Relationships are tough // not all fun and games
We are guaranteed to have heartaches and pain
But // if we choose to be committed //for the rest of our life…
“Till death do us part” // as husband and wife…
We will walk together… We will always be there…
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death!

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Photo of Stain Glass Window at Weddington United Methodist Church – Dwight L. Roth

 

 

Coffee & Love

Coffee and Love

As I take one last sip

Of morning coffee,

I think,

how similar

it is

to romantic love.

Steaming Hot!!

Enough to get burned

at the start.

Warm enough to enjoy

with added shots of Hot

Inspiration.

Cooling down to tepid

when left set

too long unattended.

Heat and flavor’s gone…

Nothing left in the pot…

Throw out

What remains.

Perhaps brew a new pot…

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Clipart: dreamstime.com